Monday, May 12, 2008

I've been trying to use Microsoft OneNote2007 a bit. It is a neat program, especially for organization of random notes, associating varieties of files/text/data, and for annotating data. It is not great as a bibliographic tool (compared to something like Zotero), nor is it intended to be a Bible research tool. BUT... over at TabletBible, I discovered that the ESV Bible and now also the NKJV Bible are available as FREE downloads for OneNote. If you take a look at the TabletBible page, you will see how nicely one can annotate the text on a Tablet PC. I'm using it on a desktop, but the graphic above will show you what it looks like and what is possible. (Note that I used the mouse to do highlighting and an attached graphics pad to do the handwriting.) I can imagine how great this would work on a Tablet PC where you could write directly on the screen.

Most of the big Bible software programs have ways of annotating the text or attaching notes. HERE is a recent note on annotating in Accordance. I have found it difficult to highlight text easily in BibleWorks, though it has been easy to add chapter/verse notes. Logos has a much more powerful annotation tool set, and I probably should learn to work with it more, but it still is a lot more work than tapping, typing, and drawing on the screen as in OneNote.

BTW, interested in getting OneNote... and the Microsoft Ultimate Office 2007 for cheap?If you have an .edu email (teacher, student, or alumni: you do not have to be an active student), Microsoft's The Ultimate Steal is an incredible value. For $59.95, you can purchase Microsoft Ultimate Office 2007 which includes Access™ 2007, Accounting Express 2007, Excel® 2007, InfoPath® 2007, Groove 2007, OneNote® 2007, Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager, PowerPoint® 2007, Publisher 2007, and Word 2007. The offer has been extended to May 16, 2008. This is entirely legitimate and quite a deal. (My wife who is finishing a DMin at Drew was able to get one. Do make sure you are a student. If they check on you, and you aren't a verified student, you will have to pay the $679 retail price. BTW, my link to the page is an affiliate link, and if you buy, I get $1! Thanks!)

3 comments:

I was using OneNote quite a bit in the fall for research, but I've been using it less as of late. I love the folder structure and the mark-up options available, but I'm finding without a tablet, you really can't take full advantage of the program.

I do Precept Bible Studies and use the Precept markup in Logos, but I think OneNote would work much better. Now if only there was a free NASB for OneNote!